OSMOSIS
OSMOSIS is made up of five wind players, each with an international performing career in his or her own right. They share a great love of historical wind instruments, for the power that these instruments have to lend a distinct colour and timbre to the music of each historical period.
Between them they have filled wind positions of such ensembles as The Orchestra of the 18th Century, Freiburger Baroque Orchestra, Concert Köln, Göttingen Festspielorchester, The Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra, The Netherlands Bach Society, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre and Les Arts Florissants, and performed and recorded with a wide variety of chamber ensembles in repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the Romantic periods.
Kate Clark, flute
Born 1962 in Sydney, Kate Clark completed her Bachelor of Music at the University of Sydney - on modern and baroque flutes - in 1985. In the same year she was a finalist in the Australian National Flute Competition and guest principal flute with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. From 1986-1990 she studied baroque and classical fliutes with Barthold Kuijken at the Royal Conservatorium in Den Haag gaining her Soloist's Diploma "cum laude”. She undertook a final period of study and research at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland under the guidance of the American flautist and musicologist Anne Smith. In 1993 she won the first Prize in the Brugge International Early Music Competition.
Since 1988 Kate Clark has performed and recorded throughout Europe as a soloist and with chamber ensembles (Musica Ad Rhenum, Ensemble of the Classic Era, Amphion Ensemble, Cantus Cölln), and orchestras (Das Freiburger Barock Orchester, Concerto Köln, Die Deutsche Handel Solisten, Das Reinische Kantorei, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Le Concert Spirituel). She makes regular appearances in Australia as soloist with The Australian Brandeburg Orchestra, The Australian Chamber Orchestra, or as artist in residence at the University of Western Australia.
Kate Clark gives lectures and courses in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Israel and Australia. She teaches baroque and renaissance flutes at the Royal Conservatorium in Den Haag (since 1996). She lives in Amsterdam with her partner and their two sons.
Ofer Frenkel, oboe
Born in Tel Aviv 1963, Ofer Frenkel studied oboe from the age of 13 with Smadar Shazar and music theory and composition with Ron Kolton in Tel Aviv. His studies were financed by the "Keren Shareth" scholarship of the America - Israel foundation. From 1986 to 1992 he completed both orchestral and soloist's Diplomas in Switzerland with Thomas Indermühle and Emanuel Abbühl, and played with the "Tonhalle Orchester" and the "Opernorchester" in Zurich. During these years Ofer Frenkel taught privately and in several music schools. In 1992-93 he undertook a period of specialisation in baroque music at the "Schola Cantorum Basiliensis" in Basel, including baroque oboe with Michel Piguet, singing, early notations and basso continuo. In 1995 he completed postgraduate studies on the baroque and classical oboes at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Ku Ebbinge. On the baroque oboe Ofer Frenkel has performed and recorded in Europe, the USA, Israel and Australia as soloist, in chamber ensembles and with many of the best baroque orchestras including Les Musiciens du Louvre, Das Freiburger Barockorchester, Concerto Köln, Das Rheinische Kantorei, The Netherlands Bach Society, Musica Ad Rhenum, Il Fondamento, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Jerusalem Baroque orchestra. He is a founding member of the ensemble Accademia Daniel which has won acclaim for its performances and recordings. He also teaches and conducts in summer courses and has given masterclasses in Tel Aviv and Sydney conservatoriums. Since 2004 he is a regular guest with the Dutch chamber music group Apollo Ensemble. As project adviser for a long-running project presenting all J.S. Bach cantata’s in Israel, Ofer Frenkel developed the concept for the project, and is involved in the detailed programming and choice of artists. Ofer Frenkel currently lives with his partner and their two sons in Amsterdam.
Nicole van Bruggen, clarinet
Nicole van Bruggen-Harris studied at the Conservatorium in Sydney directly followed by a postgraduate degree in classical clarinet and authentic performance practice with Eric Hoeprich at the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague from which she graduated in 1997. She is passionate about chamber music from teh 18th and 19th centuries, and alongside OSMOSIS, she plays in Trio Van Hengel (prize winner at the International Van Wassenaer Competition in 2001) and Kwartet André (prize winner in 1999 at the Musica Antiqua Competition at the Flanders Festival in Brugge, Belgium). As well as her regular ensembles, Nicole works as guest with a number of period instrument chamber ensembles and orchestras as a specialist in authentic clarinet, basset horn, basset clarinet and chalumeau, including The Amsterdam String Quartet and The Northern Consort. She is principal clarinettist in Concerto Copenhagen, New Dutch Academy, Arte dei Suonatori and Concerto d'Amsterdam, and has performed recently with Nederlandse Bach Vereniging, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Tafelmusik and Il Fondamento. Nicole has appeared as soloist with the New Dutch Academy, Il Concerto Barocco and Arte dei Suonatori (as "artist in residence" at the Festival of Strings and Bows in Poznan, Poland). She lives in The Netherlands with her husband and two children.
Bart Aerbeydt, horn
Bart Aerbeyt was born in 1977 in Flanders (Belgium). He studied modern horn in the Ghent and Antwerp Conservatoria with Luc Bergé and Rik Vercruysse and has played in orchestras as Beethovenacademie, Symfonieorkest van Vlaanderen, and Fiamminghi. Bart now specialises in natural horn, after obtaining his postgraduate degree in natural horn from the Amsterdam Conservatorium with Teunis van der Zwart, and plays with Freiburger Barockorchester, Ensemble Explorations, Florilegium and Die Rheinische Kantorei. He has worked with conductors such as Philippe Herreweghe, Gustav Leonhardt, Christopher Hogwood and Jos van Immerseel.
Benny Aghassi, bassoon
Benny Aghassi, born in Israel (1978), began his recorder studies with Bracha Kol. During his studies at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem he won several competitions, including the Woodwind Concerto Competition and the Early Music Competition. He received his Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he studied with Sébastien Marq (recorder) and Donna Agrell (baroque and classical bassoons), and completed his Masters degree (cum laude) with Heiko ter Schegget at The Conservatory of Utrecht. He currently teaches historical bassoon at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Benny was chosen to play with the European Union Baroque Orchestra (Lars Ulrik Mortensen). He currently plays with orchestras such as Freiburg Barockorchester, Al Ayre Español, The Netherlands Bach Society, B’Rock, Musica ad Rhenum, Holland Baroque Society and Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He is a member of ‘Mezzaluna’, in which he plays with his former teachers Peter van Heyghen and Sébastien Marq. In 2005 he won two first prizes in the ‘Aviv Competitions’ in Tel-Aviv for Old Music Instruments, and Best Performance of an Israeli Work. He has held a grant from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation between 1997-2005.